1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dental implants, and specifically to a method and apparatus to repair and restore the surface of an implant affected by peri-implantitis (a loss of bone due to disease around an implant) and to allow for the placement of a new surface on an existing implant that will enhance the repair and growth of new bone around an ailing implant.
2. Description of Related Art
Dental implants have been in use in the United States for at least 30 years. In a typical situation the patient will have a loss of a natural tooth due to loss of bone connection. Often an implant will be used as a replacement for a natural tooth.
The tooth implant device includes the implant itself, which is inserted into the bone, an abutment which screws into the implant, and the crown that is placed on the abutment. The invention relates only to the implant itself which integrates into the bone (osseo-intergration).
With the advent of tooth implants, there was a consensus among those practitioners in dentistry responsible for installing implants that the implant was permanent in nature. The patient would benefit by not having to deal with further periodontal disease regarding an implant.
Recently it is being observed by implant practitioners, that a dental implant can suffer from periodontal disease wherein gum and bone separate from the implant surface much in the same way as a natural tooth develops separation when experiencing periodontal disease.
Current implant technology requires the surface of an implant that comes in contact with gum and bone tissue to have very specific characteristics which include sterility and the lack of any toxic substance which would prevent osseo-integration. Once the surface of an implant has been exposed to peri-implantitis, the sterility is gone and the surface is covered with bacteria and all the toxic materials associated with disease. This contamination of the surface then makes repair of the bone around a diseased implant unlikely if not impossible.
The invention described in this patent application provides an apparatus and method that allows the practitioner to repair a previously installed dental implant that has suffered periodontal disease so as to enhance osseo-integration of the patient's bone tissue with the implant exterior surface that has been restored.
In the prior art, the Schonenberger U.S. Pat. No. 8,529,261 shows a device that has nothing to do with the repair of lost bone but that provides a variable seam that is determined at the time of the original placement of the input. The Schonenberger device deals with the anatomy above the bone.
The Jacoby U.S. Patent Publication 2012/0156646 published Jan. 21, 2012 discloses a device to create an implant body with replaceable parts that can be changed. The applicant's invention is completely different because the applicant's invention deals with implants of traditional design already in the mouth that need repair. The Jacoby device has multiple rings of great thickness that comprise the implant body as compared to Applicant's very thin surface restoration sleeve of a given length that can repair any implant body.